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OK, I bought a SATA enclosure and SATA HDD. If I've properly installed the drive in the enclosure, do I have to first connect it to my home computer and partition it, format it, run diag, etc., or can I just connect it to the HR21-100?

Just connect it to the HR21 and boot up. The HR21 will set everything up for you. No need to connect to a PC first.

Just connect it to the HR21 and boot up. The HR21 will set everything up for you. No need to connect to a PC first.

Success! Worked like a charm.Question: I know I can power down the receiver, unplug the SATA drive, restart the reciever, and get back to recordings on the original drive, but will I have to reset auto recordings, etc. when I revert to the SATA drive?

I have a HR21 700 and tried two external drive Enclosures, the Antec MX-1 and the Rosewill RX81-MP-SC. the MX 1 worked but its a very cheap plastic and the fan is very loud, since its plastic it cant dissipate heat well, so I wanted to try a new Enclosure the Rosewill RX81-MP-SC http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817182122 its made of solid aluminum, and it works perfectly. Its the most well built enclosure iv ever used. The aluminum dissipates the heat very well and the drive inside stays cool. The esata cable thats comes with it works fine, but I wanted to use the highest quality cable I could find so I used the SIIG http://www.newegg.co...N82E16812191016

For the hard drive I used a Seagate 1 TB drive, this drive has a 5 year warranty and 7200 rpm 32mb cache. http://www.bestbuy.c...d=1186003683968I dont buy OEM hard drives, as they can cause problems in the way they ship it, its not as protected as a retail hard drive with is pre boxed and iv had better luck with retail drives. I know this setup isnt cheap but its been working for 2 months now, and its been through many updates and I still have all my recordings. I know there is cheaper Rosewill cases out there but this one works for me 100% and is much better than the MX1 I tried. It really is one of the best enclosure iv ever used its built like a tank and matches my hr21 nicely. Im also using a APC - 750VA Battery Back-Up UPS, and never had a power out with this thing, have just the dvr and external drive connected to it.http://www.bestbuy.c...d=1188559784051 iv been reading these forms for months and needed help on a working drive setup, and you guys helped me so much, that when I found a solid working setup, I had to post. thank you all for the help, the only thing iv found to be better than this setup, is a 2 TB option

Hmmm, Our experiences are most definitely different. I've got eight Antec MX-1's all with 1tb wd drives and they are whisper quiet. I can hear the drives in the HR20's but not a peep from the drives in these cases, not even up close.

FYI, in checking into the MX-1, I found a fair number of reports in various places, including the Other Hardware forum of www.arstechnica.com that mention a potential bad batch with loud fans earlier in teh year. So, it is possible for all teh opinions of the MX-1 to be dead on.

They have fixed the problem now from what I have read. I will pass on my experience.

I am going to take the 750 drive I'm using out of the Calvary case to see if better cooling will help with some lockups I have been having. Hopefully, it is a simple swap.

DirecTV, please don't make me have to go back to watching March Madness in standard Def! Oh, and the usual begging for AMC and BBC America. You are so close to actually being the HD Leader.

Hopefully someone can help....
I have the HR21, Antec MX1 case w/ 250 GB Seagate, eSata cable from Monoprice.com and 1 from FireFold.com.
Does not detect the drive with either cable, also had my friend try on his HR20, with no luck.
Is there a special "type" of drive these receivers need? That would be my guess so far. This 250GB Seagate only has an 8MB buffer. The rest of the setup seems to be working for everyone else.

I'm not familiar with eSata and don't have that connection on my computer. But noticed the MX1 does not boot up with an eSata cable connected until the receiver is turned on. Drive boots without any cables attached and also boots with USB connected. Is this "normal" behavior for an eSata drive? I thought I should get the drive to spin up first, then turn on the receiver.

Hopefully someone can help....I have the HR21, Antec MX1 case w/ 250 GB Seagate, eSata cable from Monoprice.com and 1 from FireFold.com.Does not detect the drive with either cable, also had my friend try on his HR20, with no luck.Is there a special "type" of drive these receivers need? That would be my guess so far. This 250GB Seagate only has an 8MB buffer. The rest of the setup seems to be working for everyone else.

I'm not familiar with eSata and don't have that connection on my computer. But noticed the MX1 does not boot up with an eSata cable connected until the receiver is turned on. Drive boots without any cables attached and also boots with USB connected. Is this "normal" behavior for an eSata drive? I thought I should get the drive to spin up first, then turn on the receiver.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

:welcome_s to DBSTalk, joem72!

I am not sure if it would stop if from working or not but a 250GB hard drive is smaller than the hard drive in the HR21. The HR21 has a 320GB hard drive and the eSATA drive replaces the internal drive. It does not add to it.

Update, so a few weeks later to many restarts and dvr being set back ot internal drive, returning the Seagate today, sticking to internatl drive and less recording.

I have a Seagate Barracuda 1TB Sata drive (ST31000340AS) in an Antec MX-1 SATA Enclosure attached with a 3' cable to my HR21-100. Everytime I reset (reboot) it reformats the drive. I've disconnected and gone back to the internal drive as well!

Reviewers on buy.com indicate it works with the DirecTv DVR. Could someone help me out and explain what the difference between these two drives is and whether there is any disadvantage with going with the less expensive drive.